Lee Jing Qi is redefining modern entrepreneurship, one bold move at a time. Photos: YAP CHEE HONG/THE STAR; Location: Blossom A GlassMansion; Hair & makeup: CHRISTINA LING/Xtina Image Studio
In today’s hyper-digital age – where platforms rise and fade quicker than the latest TikTok trend – it takes more than just ambition to thrive.
At 28, Lee Jing Qi embodies all of that.
As the CEO of Atlantis Agency and the founder of luxury gifting brand Gift Umore, she has carved out a path that fuses creativity with strategy, empathy with innovation and courage with purpose.
“Entrepreneurship, to me, isn’t about building businesses for the sake of it,” she says with quiet conviction. “It’s about asking – what impact can I make? What legacy can I leave?”
The spark at 19
At just 19, while most of her peers were figuring out career paths or college, she was already scrutinising the marketing landscape with a keen eye.
“What I saw was a sea of agencies doing the same thing over and over,” shares Lee during the Life Inspired cover shoot at Blossom A Glassmansion, a chic restaurant and event space she owns along Jalan Imbi in Kuala Lumpur.
“They were following formulas that might have worked in the past, but the world was changing. Consumer behaviour was changing. Social platforms were exploding. And yet, the strategies felt... dated.”
Lee describes time as an emotional currency. — YAP CHEE HONG/The Star
Her “aha” moment came in a pitch meeting where a client asked: ‘Why are we generating buzz but not conversions?’
“That question hung in the air like a challenge. Nobody had an answer,” she remembers. “It struck me then – the real problem wasn’t visibility. It was connection. Brands were shouting, but nobody was really listening.”
What began as an experiment has since grown into an award-winning powerhouse – bagging the Asia Pacific Top Excellence Enterprise Award and driving impact for brands across industries.
For Lee, success has never been about flashy numbers or vanity metrics. It’s about resonance.
“At Atlantis, our job isn’t just to sell a product. It’s to make people feel something,” she explains. “Every brand has a soul. Our role is to uncover it and amplify it.”
Atlantis Agency today offers the full suite of services – branding, advertising, web development, and digital strategy – but its signature lies in campaigns that people remember not because they’re loud, but because they’re authentic.
It’s what guides her team in developing campaigns that balance data with storytelling, strategy with empathy.
This philosophy also flows seamlessly into her second venture, Gift Umore, a luxury gifting brand that blends artificial intelligence with cultural insight to curate truly meaningful experiences.
For Lee, gifting is not just an exchange of items – it’s a form of psychology.
“I’ve found that the biggest challenge people face when choosing a gift is: ‘How do I give something that truly conveys my emotions?’ That’s why Gift Umore was built on the belief that a gift is not just an object, but a vessel for memories.
“We’re not just selling products,” she reiterates. “We’re creating moments of connection. A gift should never feel transactional. It should feel intentional, thoughtful, even transformative.”
Motherhood and leadership
In the midst of scaling businesses and bagging awards, Lee also stepped into another life-defining role – motherhood. Today, she’s a proud mum to a one-year-old son.
“Motherhood changes everything,” she admits candidly. “It forces you to rethink your priorities, your energy, your time.”
“I stopped chasing balance – it doesn’t exist,” she laughs. “Instead, I chose presence. When I’m with my son, I’m there fully. When I’m leading my team, I’m there fully. Love and clarity can exist even in chaos.”
She fosters a culture of openness at Atlantis, mentoring young talent and encouraging them to think beyond formulas.
“I want my team to know: you don’t have to play by outdated rules. You can create your own.”
Lee is acutely aware of the hurdles she has faced as a young woman in a space often dominated by men.
“People told me, ‘Don’t go too big – build something small but beautiful,’” she recalls. “But why should women dream smaller? I never wanted to be labelled a ‘female entrepreneur.’ I wanted to be recognised as an entrepreneur, full stop.”
Her advice for the next generation of female leaders is clear: “Don’t wait for opportunities – create them.
“Don’t conform to market expectations – define your own. And finally, don’t settle for fitting into a system – build a better one.
“It’s not about proving yourself to others,” she adds. “It’s about proving to yourself that you can step into the spaces you once thought were out of reach.”
Failures as fuel
Success stories often gloss over the bumps on the road, but Lee is
refreshingly honest about hers. One campaign in particular stands out.
“We had invested heavily in visuals, media placement, and data-driven tactics. On paper, it was flawless. But when we launched – it fell flat. The audience just didn’t connect.”
Instead of brushing it under the rug, Lee dissected the failure.
“That experience was humbling. But it taught me something essential: the market doesn’t reward the most creative campaign. It rewards the one that truly understands people.”
From that lesson, she forged her personal commandments for business: Empathy over ego, strategy before aesthetics and data with soul.
“You can break the rules,” she reasons, “but first you must understand them completely.”
Time and legacy
Ask Lee about time, and she won’t talk in hours or minutes. Instead, she describes it as an emotional currency.
“I measure time in love, respect, and energy,” she reflects. “It’s not about being punctual—it’s about presence. What matters is how people feel when you show up.” (True to form, a smiling Lee showed up for our shoot right on the dot.)
Her appreciation for time extends to her love for timepieces. For Lee, watches aren’t just accessories. They’re storytellers.
“It’s not about prestige. It’s about legacy. One day, I hope to pass it on to my son — with stories embedded in every second it has counted.”
As she looks to the future, Lee is as ambitious as she is grounded.
Her vision is simple but powerful: to build businesses that are profitable, yes — but also profoundly meaningful.
“We’re not here to follow market trends,” she concludes. “We’re here to shape them. To be architects of what’s next.”
And if her story proves anything, it’s that the boldest moves are the ones rooted in meaning.
